PP10: Extending LDAP schemas in support of Applications

[Lisa Dusseault <[e-mail]>]

	

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Kurt Zeilenga <[e-mail]>
> Date: January 18, 2008 11:33:45 AM PST
> To: Lisa Dusseault <[e-mail]>
> Subject: Re: Directory Position
>
> Here's a bit more...  -- Kurt
>
>
> LDAP directory systems are in wide spread use as repositories for  
> information used in providing Internet services, including Email  
> services (SMTP, IMAP, POP, SIEVE, MANAGESIEVE), instant messaging  
> and presence services (XMPP, SIP), and calendaring and scheduling  
> (CALDAV).  Despite this wide spread use, schema used in  
> representing Internet service information is rarely standardized.   
> This hinders interoperability.
>
> To improve interoperability, the IETF should engineer standards,  
> where appropriate, of LDAP schema used for representing information  
> used in providing Internet services.  This engineering would  
> include specification of generalized schema elements, such as for  
> representing Internet users and their credentials, and  
> specification of service-specific elements, such as representing  
> objects in support of Email services.
>
> Example generalized schema elements include:
>
> - Define schema to represent a user of Internet services.
> - Define schema to represent a user's authorization to utilize  
> Internet services.
>
> Example service-specific schema elements include:
>
> - Define email service schema in support of SMTP, IMAP, POP, SIEVE,  
> MANAGESIEVE, etc.  This would not be limited to just routing (as  
> LASER is), but also represent things such as the user's current  
> SIEVE script.
>
> The generalized elements would aide one in deploying multiple  
> different services using components provided by different vendors  
> (for instance an Isode email solution with an Apple calendaring  
> solution).   The service-specific elements would aide one in  
> deploying within a single service, such as email, components from  
> different vendors (for instance, Sendmail incoming SMTP servers,  
> Postfix outing SMTP, Apple submission SMTP, and an Isode IMAP server).
>
>
>